Wood sale: Fraudulent wood sale: Six FDCM employees suspended | News from Nagpur

Nagpur: The Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM) Limited, a wholly-owned government-owned company that cuts trees for commercial purposes, has suspended six employees of the Chandrapur division for dealing with timber suppliers, thereby causing huge financial losses to the corporation. Those suspended include a Range Forest Officer (RFO), three Round Officers, a forest ranger and a permanent ‘van major’ – all posted in the Mamla forest range. The suspension orders (a copy is available with TOI) were issued by Sumeet Kumar, divisional officer in Chandrapur, on Monday. Interestingly, no responsibility was assigned to either the deputy manager or the divisional officer, who were supposed to have overseen the scam. Those suspended include Mamla RFO Sunil Pandurang Atram, forest rangers Vipul Sambhaji Atram, Umesh Pralhad Dakhore, Netaji Mohan Borade, forest ranger Prachi Devkumar Chunarkar and permanent van major Hiraman Gedam. Speaking to TOI, FDCM managing director Vikas Gupta said, “Investigation is on. We will take appropriate action as soon as the report comes.” Divisional head Sumeet Kumar admitted that all the above-mentioned employees were prima facie involved in embezzlement of illegally sold timber products from the Mamla depot. Sources within the FDCM told TOI that the suspended ones had conspired with the timber suppliers and caused huge financial losses to the corporation. The modus operandi included sending surplus timber to the sales depot without keeping any records. “This unofficial valuable teak was then sold to buyers or forest contractors who procured small quantities at auctions and along with the same wood, the surplus material was shipped at a knock-down price. The money for the surplus wood was later divided among the employees,” sources said. Earlier, a department head was informed about the scam but no action was taken. The chain was exposed by a whistleblower contractor who discussed the matter with Regional Manager (RM) Chandrapur. The RM conducted spot visits and found the complaint to be true. Gadchiroli Honorary Wildlife Warden Uday Patel demanded strict action against the employees. “Similar scams in other departments cannot be ruled out. The MD of FDCM should immediately file an FIR against erring employees, beneficiaries and contractors to avoid such incidents in future. Verification and physical verification of the wood lying in all the depots should be initiated immediately. The fraud must have been going on for a long time,” Patel said.

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